What Brayden wants to be when he grows up...

Lately Brayden is really into pretending.  Grandma Becky had bought him some costumes and different kinds of hats and he loves them.  He used to love to play doctor.  He would carry around his bag of medical supplies and pretend to be a doctor.  My favorite was when he would come up with his stethoscope and say I need to listen to your heart beep (always thinking about cars huh).  He would take your temperature, check your blood pressure, and listen to your heart beat.  It is so fun to see him use his imagination.

He also loves to pretend to be a firefighter, a construction worker, a chef, a rock star, and a baseball player.  If you would have asked Brayden about a month ago what he wanted to be when he grew up he would say doctor.  I would ask Brayden what kind of doctor and those of you who see Brayden often can probably imagine his next response, " I don't know. Can you tell me".   I would tell Brayden he can be whatever he wants to be when he grows up.  Well lately his career path has changed.  If you ask Brayden what he wants to be when he grows up he will say a baseball player.  The other day Daddy went to work out at the Y and Brayden and I went for a walk by the high school and went over by the baseball and football fields.

I say this time and time again but I love Brayden at this age.  We have been having such a fun summer and I love watching him learn and grow!  And of course what post is complete without pictures!

Fun in the Sand

Before we got this heat wave we decided to get some sand for Brayden's sandbox and put it on the deck.  We went out on morning to play and Brayden had a blast.  We were playing with our buckets, shovels, and sand molds when Brayden said, "Hey Mom can I play with some cars in the sand."  I thought that was a clever idea since Brayden has some dump trucks and other cars.  We went inside and brought out 5 cars that we could put in the sandbox.  He had so much fun and even learned how to make sand castles.

I-Cubs Game

I can not believe how fast this summer is going.  I have loved every minute of it.  I need to get back on the blogging bandwagon so I can remember all the fun activities we did this summer.

One Saturday night we headed to the I-Cubs game.  Thanks to Andrew's work we had some great seats right behind the home dugout.  The weather was a little chilly for a June evening but all we needed was a coat.  Apparently others did not approve the weather because the crowd at the game was small.   There were plenty of seats in our section. 

Brayden took his glove with him in case we got a foul ball.  He was sitting wearing his glove for a few of the innings.  It was so sweet to listen to him talk about the game.  We noticed that in the 3rd inning the Cubs ended the game with an out so the catcher came back to the dugout with the ball.  A young boy ran down and the catcher threw it up him.  Andrew and I thought that would be fun for Brayden to catch a ball.  So we continued to watch the game and after the 2nd out in the 4th inning Andrew and Brayden went down to the first row behind the dugout.   Unfortunately the 3rd out came from being caught in the outfield.   The players came into the dugout and the catcher saw Brayden sitting there with his glove and told him to hang on a minute.  He went into the dugout and grabbed a used ball and tossed it up to Brayden.  He turned around to me and showed me he had caught a ball.  He was so proud when he came back to his seat.  Andrew said he even told the catcher thank you for the ball.

When he got back to our seats he would not let go of that ball.  He held onto it for most of the night.  I asked Brayden where he got that ball and he said, "that catcher threw it to me". 

That night when we got home Brayden decided to sleep with his baseball.  Sure enough when he woke up the next morning Papa and Uncle Dustin were here and he decided to go get his baseball to show them and it was still in his bed. 

Happy Easter!

I know this is a couple of weeks late but here is a recap of our Easter.  Since I have been working so much our trip home was quick but we made sure to make the best of it.   Auntie Jill and Cousin Parker came home from Minnesota so it was fun to let Brayden and Parker play together. On Saturday, we had an Easter egg hunt at Grandma Becky and Papa Marc's house.  Oma, Papa, and Uncle Dustin came out to enjoy watching Brayden.  We had done an Easter egg hunt at home so Brayden already knew what to do.   He had so much fun finding eggs and even more fun opening them and finding candy.  Brayden was even nice enough to share his candy with Daddy and Great Grandpa Norbert.  In the afternoon Great Grandma Grace hid some more eggs in the basement and we had round 3 of egg finding. 

On Sunday we spent the day with Oma, Papa, Tic Toc Oma, and Uncle Dustin.  Oma hid some eggs outside so we went out to find them.  Oma had easter eggs that looked like basketballs, baseballs, and soccer balls.  Brayden took a great afternoon nap at Oma's house so we weren't sure how the drive home was going to go but Brayden kept himself entertained the whole time with his Easter basket and eggs.  We were all tired on Monday but it was well worth it after such a fun weekend.

 Great Grandpa Norbert and Brayden relaxing on Saturday.

 Cousin Parker likes when  I take pictures of him.

It was a chilly afternoon for the Easter egg hunt so Brayden bundled up but had a great time searching for eggs.

 Happy Brayden with a pail full of yummy treats!

 An action shot of Brayden finding some eggs.

The weather on Sunday ended up to be beautiful as we needed sunglasses but were able to not need our coats. 

Growing Up

Have you you ever heard people say why change something if nothing is wrong?  That was our exact thoughts with Brayden's crib.  Brayden had been sleeping all night in his crib and never attempted to climb out so he thought why make any changes.  A couple of weeks ago we decided to change Brayden's crib into his big boy daybed.  Before Andrew started converting the crib I asked Brayden if I could take a couple of pictures in his baby bed.  I have to admit I kept asking Andrew if it made him sad to think that Brayden is ready for his big boy bed and he kept looking at me like I was crazy.   I chalked it up to being a mom thing to get sentimental about things like that.   Once his big boy ready he was very excited to climb in himself.  He wanted to get books and toys and bring them in his bed.  It is quite funny to see Brayden come walking out of his room when he wakes up.  A few times he has woke up in the middle of the night and come into our room but really he has transitioned quite well. 

Although he does look like he could probably climb out if he wanted to he never did.  Thank goodness!

Look at my big boy in hi new bed! 

 He climbed in and covered himself to go night night.  Don't let this picture fool you he laid down for 30 seconds before he was up and ready to play.

Love that smile!

How do we spend Spring Break?

By doing special fun activities.  Our first day we spent at the zoo.  Not all of the animals were out yet but the animals we did see were very active.  I took my camera along but I was too busy living in the moment to take pictures.  Brayden and I had so much fun together.    He loved looking at the lions and the tigers.  The lions were resting right next to the window.  Brayden counted the lions and informed me there were 3 lions.  After the lions we moved onto the tigers.  We only saw one tiger but he was busy getting his exercise.  Brayden told me, "that tiger is walking mommy".   He was correct as he was just walking around.   He kept walking past the window and Brayden would get so excited.  Here are a couple of pictures that I did take.

"Hi Birds!"

See the tiger in the background.   He was exercising and walking laps.

The tiger is on his way back to come by the window.  Brayden's nose was glued to the glass as the tiger got close. 

What do these pictures have in common?

What is the relationship between these two pictures?

If you haven't already figured out last night we took Brayden to his first show at the Civic Center.  We found out that Madagascar Live was going to be performing at the Civic Center and we debated about taking Brayden.  Was he too young? Would he be scared?  Would he love it?  We went back and forth.  Andrew called the Civic Center to inquire about tickets and found out they had awesome seats still left so we decided to bite the bullet and order tickets.  We figured we would never know if he liked it or not if we didn't try.

So Andrew came home from work with a flier for the show and the tickets.  He asked Brayden if he wanted to go see this show and of course he said, yes! We talked to him about it in preparation but weren't really sure what kind of reaction we would get. 

Andrew dropped B and I off at the doors while he went to get a parking spot.  We were knew we were taking a chance going on a Friday night but we were going to try anyways.  When we went in Brayden held his ticket tight and handed it to the "worker" as he called her.  She scanned our tickets and Brayden looked around wide eyed trying to take it in.  When Andrew got in we quickly went in to find our seats.  We were in the 7th row dead center!  When we sat down Brayden seemed really excited that was until the lights went down and the loud music began.  He was sitting in Andrew's lap and soon jumped into mine.  When the animals came out he smiled but he was still trying to take it all in.  He didn't want to sit in his own seat but he did relax and start to enjoy it.

At intermission he stood for a bit and you could tell he was starting to enjoy it.  The second act started and that is when the true Brayden came out.  He started talking a bit more and really seemed to enjoy the show.  At one point King Julian threw one of the animals and Brayden perked up and said, "No no, why that guy throw him?".  When all of the animals would break into dance Brayden was pointing and smiling at them. 

When the show was done Andrew and I were so glad we took the chance and got tickets.   Brayden seemed to really enjoy himself.  We enjoyed Brayden's reaction to the show just as much as the show itself.  We couldn't take pictures inside the theatre so we stopped for a few pictures outside the theatre.

Of course we couldn't end the night of firsts without a trip through the sky walk.  Brayden stayed up past his bedtime but did great.   We had such a fun Friday night. 

Posing with Daddy

Had to adjust camera settings since the flash was too bright.

Look at that big boy!

Walking up the stairs to check out the sky-walk.

Brayden was amazed looking out the windows of the skywalk at the cars that were driving under us.  I love how this picture turned out!

Funny story

For all of our faithful blog readers I must apologize for the lack of posts lately.  I recently had my first long-term sub job and on top of working everyday we were also gearing up for our state swim meet which meant long nights at the pool too.  Thankfully I am now on a much deserve Spring Break and swim team is in its last few weeks before Regionals up in Minnesota.  I was a kindergarten teacher and I tell you every night I was in bed by 9 because they wore me out. 

Anyways, onto the more important matter of this post.  I love hanging out with our every changing 2 year old and here is a perfect example why.

After church this morning we needed a few groceries so we went to HyVee and Brayden insisted we all get doughnuts so once our shopping was done we went into the HyVee diner to enjoy our doughnuts.  While we were sitting at our table we saw a police car drive by and soon a police officer came in to get some breakfast. I know you are all probably wondering if he got doughnuts so I will tell you he did not. 
When he walked past Brayden started pointing and saying "That a police officer Daddy".  

Andrew playfully joked to Brayden, "You better be a good boy or he is going to come get you."

 Brayden quickly responded with," I sorry". 

I am not sure what he was sorry for but Andrew and I just started laughing.  Anyways, on the police officers way out he had to walk past our table and he must have seen the excitement/curiosity in Brayden's eyes so he stopped at our table to say hi.

He talked to Brayden about being safe in the car and reminded him that every time he got in the car he should wear his seat belt and that Mommy and Daddy should always wear theirs too.   He asked Brayden if he wore his seat belt and he told the officer Yes.   He didn't say a whole lot more just tried to take it all in.  After the police officer left we were talking about it and Andrew asked him what did the police officer tell you to do and Brayden said,  "Wear my seat belt for me".  Coming from a kindergarten teachers perspective I am so glad to see Brayden is able to summarize and recall details from past events!

Having a 2 year old you never quite know what to expect but that is the joy of it all. 

Be on the look out for many new blog posts as a lot has happened in the past few weeks!

Superbowl Party

We love a good football game so the Superbowl seems like a great time to get together.   We all had some friends come over, even for Brayden.  We had a great time hanging out all afternoon and then watching the game.   I am not sure how much game watching we did but it sure was fun to socialize with friends.  Here are some pictures from the day.

Brayden and his girlfriend Caitlin sharing his chair.  They play so nice with each other that we love to get them together for playdates.

Brayden hadn't seen baby Will since he was a few weeks old so he was excited when Hannah and Will came for a visit.  Hannah even asked if Brayden wanted to feed Will and Brayden thought that was a pretty fun job to hold the bottle for Will.

You gotta love the expression on everyones faces as they are carefully trying to stay on the track for an intense game of Mario Kart.

Brayden holding his friend Will.  Brayden did such a good job sitting still to hold Will.  Will is such a good baby.  He was so content and even gave us some of the cutest smiles.  

We were getting Brayden ready for bed and we forgot we didn't take a family picture.  Brayden put his jersey on over his pjs.   I love my cameras remote setting!

Guess Who Is On The Pole For The Daytona 500?!

None other than the clean-cut Dale Earnhardt, Jr...great photo op Dale! Hopefully we will see you a lot of you throughout the season.  Now go get'em next Sunday!

Iowa Energy Game

A couple of weeks ago Daddy got some tickets to the Iowa Energy game so we invited Steph, Kenzie, Caitlin, and Uncle Dustin to come with us.    Brayden and Caitlin had a great time clapping and cheering on the Energy during the game.  It was 70's night at the game and Caitlin really liked some guy dressed in bell bottoms and crazy hair.   Every time she would see him walk by she would point and start talking.  It was so funny.  You know how you always remember the 1st time things happen.  I remember the first time we took Brayden to an Iowa Energy game because we had court side seats right behind the bench and every time the buzzer went off, Brayden would cry.  Well we had another first in Brayden's life this year at the game.   Brayden was having a blast with Caitlin and all of a sudden within a few minutes he started to get red in the cheeks like he was getting hot.  Andrew decided to have him sit on his lap for a bit and we took his top shirt off.  The next thing we know Brayden threw up all over Andrew and the seat.  Not only was the 1st time Brayden had got the flu, but he also got it in a public place.  Poor guy.  We tried to quickly clean up and get home.  So even though our game was cut short we still had a great time.  Here are some pictures to prove it. 

Kenzie, Steph, and Caitlin.   Caitlin is at that age where she is not always interested in pictures just like Brayden.

Group picture, well sorta.   We will take what we can get.  I think Caitlin is looking for her boyfriend with the bell bottoms!

Good shot!

Brayden loves hanging out with Kenzie.  He sat on her lap for part of the game.   She is a teacher so she is  a natural.

Brayden had so much fun.

Some of those basketball players are tall!

Today is Oma's birthday!

Happy Birthday Oma!  Since Oma's birthday is today we all meet in Des Moines on Saturday to celebrate.  We met at the mall because Oma and Papa were going to buy new tv.  Cousins Grace, Brady, and Ashleigh all came out to celebrate.  We met for supper at The Cheesecake Factory.  We had a lot of fun.  After The Cheesecake Factory we all went back to our house for cake and ice cream.  I was excited to have Ashleigh and Brady come over to play.  We enjoyed the chocolate cake my Daddy made.   Here are a few pictures from our day. 

 Happy Birthday Oma from the grandkids!

 Oma had to sit at the kids table.

Oma had 3 candles on her birthday cake.   She was so nice to let us blow them out with her.

Sadly I didn't get a picture of just Oma and Brayden so instead here is one of me and Mommy while we were waiting for everyone else to finish eating.

I love to paint

Santa and Cousin Caroline must have talked this Christmas because Brayden received two awesome presents and they go perfect together.  When we woke up Christmas morning we found that Santa had brought Brayden an easel.  It has a handy tray to put his crayons or paints on.  He immediately wanted to put paper on there to color.  So we did and he loved it.  Well when Brayden opened a gift from Cousin Caroline he got even more excited because his easel had more then one purpose.  Cousin Caroline got Brayden paint supplies.  He was beyond thrilled when we said it was paint.  He has finger painted before so he knew what we were talking about but he had never painted at an easel before. 

One day when I was home with Brayden we decided to set up the easel with the paint.   I made sure to protect the floor because I can only imagine what could happen with a 2 year old painting.  While I was getting things ready Brayden was busy getting the paint out and then proceeding to put them in order on the floor and try to count them...one, two, tree, one, two... Some days he counts to ten perfectly and the next day he says one through three and back again.  The joys of living with  2 year old!

We got everything ready and Brayden decided what color he wanted to paint with.  Cousin Caroline got Brayden a paint smock for Christmas so I told Brayden he needed to put it on before we started to paint and he said, " No, I don't want it".  I told him if he was going to paint he needed to wear a paint smock.  After giving him a logical explanation he agreed to wear it. 

Once we got everything set up we painted for almost an hour the first day.  I was able to paint with Brayden, put his clothes away, clean up the toys in his room, and snap pictures/videos while he painted.  It was a productive hour to say the least.   Here are some of the pictures I took.

 Waiting is always the hardest part.  I told him we needed to shake the paint so here he is with his first color selection of blue.  He got to pick the colors he uses to paint and what a great way to reinforce colors!

 I didn't put very much paint in the containers because I didn't want to waste any so I told Brayden he had to put the paint brush all the way down to the bottom of the container to get more paint on his brush. 

So impressed with his painting for the first time.  Don't worry the first time mommy in me made sure to keep his first pieces of artwork! Or maybe even 2nd and 3rd time Mommys do that too?

 I love this picture of Brayden painting.  That smile on his face is unforgettable.  I am pretty sure he had that look most of the time he was painting.   Well that face and his look of determination as he was so focused during his painting.

Look at that masterpiece!